Foot cap for burial casket and liner therefor



Sept. 7, 1965 c. H. Ross 3,204 318 FOOT CAP FOR BURIAL CASKET AND LINER THEREFOR Filed March 2, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 8 w to & H

g, l m x INVENTOR.

CARL H. ROSS p 7, 1965 c. H. ROSS 3,204,318

FOOT CAP FOR BURIAL CASKET AND LINER THEREFOR Filed March 2, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 32 as 22 INVENTOR.

CARL H. ROSS j raffw Sept. 7, 1965 c. H. Ross 3,204,318

FOOT CAP FOR BURIAL GASKET AND LINER THEREFOR Filed March 2, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

CARL H. ROSS BY W fi ATTO RN FY FOOT CAP FOR BURIAL CASKET AND LINER THEREFOR Filed March 2, 1962 C. H. ROSS Sept. 7, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR CARL H. ROSS ATTORNEY FOOT CAP FOR BURIAL CASKET AND LINER THEREFOR Filed March 2 1962 C. H. ROSS Sept. 7, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 R O NWN m s E S V O m R H mm L A. w. c i n n on m x V Nw mm v v ow mm mm BY j/MW ATTORNEY FOOT CAP FOR BURIAL CASKET AND LINER THEREFOR Filed March 2 1962 C. H. ROSS Sept. 7, 19 65 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR.

CARL H. ROSS BY J ATTORN mm ON United States Patent This invention relates to a decorative insert for the foot cap of a burial casket of the half-couch type.

In the burial casket industry, it has been common practice to provide a casket body with two hinged cover or lid sections, one serving to cover lower portions of a corpse, and the other serving to cover the head and trunk. The last-mentioned section is generally referred to as the head cap, and is usually embellished interiorly with an attractive liner so as to present a pleasing appearance when the head cap is held in the open position for display of the corpse. The remaining lid or cover section is known as the foot cap, and is usually also lined, although not ordinarily as elaborately as the head cap due to the fact that the foot cap generally is kept closed upon the casket body during display of the corpse. On occasion, however, the foot cap may be moved to the open position, thus necessitating a finished appearance of the foot cap interior.

Finishing or lining the interior of the foot cap, though often considered a matter of minor importance due to the infrequency of exposure incident to use of the casket, was nevertheless a necessity and involved the expenditure of labor and material which added to the cost of casket manufacture.

One of the objects of the present invention is to materially reduce the cost of lining the foot cap, while at the same time ensuring an acceptable appearance should the foot cap be opened or raised to expose the interior or under face thereof.

Another object is to provide a foot cap liner of attractive appearance, which may be prefabricated at low cost and instantly snapped into position within the foot cap, the installation requiring a minimum expenditure of time and labor so as not to delay the scheduled use of the casket.

Another object is to provide a foot cap construction which ensures quick and easy application of a liner chosen from a number of available liner styles, with assurance that the liner will remain permanently in proper position upon the foot cap.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the 'means described herein and illustrated upon the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a foot cap embodying the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the same, looking from left to right.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the foot cap, looking from right to left upon FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the foot cap, with the liner in position.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the foot cap, with the liner omitted.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the liner for the foot cap, showing the finished surface thereof.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the liner of FIG. 6, showing the nether surface thereof.

FIG. 8 is a cross-section taken on line 88 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 is a cross-section taken on line 99 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a fragmental cross-section showing on an enlarged scale the left end portion of FIG. 8.

Patented Sept. 7, 1965 FIG. 11 is a fragmental cross-section showing on an enlarged scale the right end portion of FIG. 8.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmental cross-section of the left side of the foot cap of FIG. 9 showing a modified type of liner.

FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 12, but of the right side of the foot cap of FIG. 9.

With reference to the drawings, the numeral 16 indicates generally the foot cap of a burial casket, which cap includes a suitably shaped dome element 18 fixed upon the top of the cap in customary manner. The frame of the cap includes a substantially rectangular rim 20 having a horizontal lower bearing flange 22 adapted to rest upon and seal against the corresponding upper rim of a casket, not shown, said bearing flange extending about three sides of the cap as at 21, 23 and 25, wherein 21 denotes the hinge flange, 23 the foot flange, and the top flange. At the fourth or remaining side of the cap is situated an arched end wall 24, arranged vertically or substantially normal to a plane which is common to the several bearing flange sections 22 of the cap rim.

The lower or peripheral edge of wall 24 is outturned to provide an arch flange 58 the free outer edge of which is provided with a depending lip or stop flange 56, note FIGS. 8 and 10.

An upright reinforcing flange 26 integral with the bearing flange sections 21, 23 and 25 extends continuously about three sides of the cap rim interiorly thereof, exclusive of the arched end, and in addition to reinforcing the cap, said flange 26 provides an upper interior contact edge 28 to support marginal portions of an initially flat upholstered liner or panel indicated generally by the numeral 30, in a manner to be explained.

In addition to the arched end wall 24, the cap has a hinged rear side 32, a front side 34 exposed to view when the casket is on display, and a foot or terminal end 36 which coincides with one end of the casket. Hinges for the cap are indicated conventionally at 38 upon FIGS. 4 and 5, and these connect the cap to the rear side of a casket body in the usual manner.

The intially flat upholstered liner or panel 30 is of a width in excess of the span between the adjacent portions of the hinge and top flanges 21 and 25 of the cap and its length exceeds the distance between the adjacent portions of the foot and arch flanges 23 and 56, respectively. Accordingly, by reference to FIG. 9, panel 30 may be applied interiorly of the cap in a transversely flexed or arched condition, with its side or marginal edges 40 and 42 projecting beyond the reinforcing flanges 26 of the hinge and top flanges 21 and 25 to terminate in pockets 44 (FIGS. 12 and 13) into which pockets the marginal edges are received or tucked. Pockets 44 are formed by the obliquely inclined guide wings 46 which overlie the flanges 26 and project beyond their outer peripheral edges 28. Each guide wing 46 is inclined upwardly and inwardly toward dome 18, and each has a base 48 spotwelded or otherwise fixed to the inside face of a bearing flange section 22.

The guide wing elements may be of substantially rigid sheet metal, and each is spaced from a flange edge 28 to form a mouth through which a panel edge may be introduced when lodged within pockets 44. The guide wing elements are not necessarily continuous with the flanges 26, but may be laterally spaced as indicated at 46 of FIG. 5.

The terminal or foot end margin 50 of panel 30, FIG. 8, is received in a pocket along the foot flange 23 in the same manner as above explained, with the wing 46 guiding it into the pocket 44, note FIG. 11.

The arch end 52 of the panel may be slightly reduced in length at-the corners 54, to fit against a depending continuous lip or stop flange 56 which borders the arch of wall 24. As best illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 10, stop flanges 56 may be integral with the jamb or arch flange 58, which latter provides a support for the correspondingly arched end of a head cap which bears upon the ledge when the head cap is closed upon the casket body in customary manner.

To apply the panel 30 to the foot cap so 'that it will line the cap according to FIGS. 4, 8 and 9, the installer simply tucks one side edge and-the terminal end 50 into corresponding side and end pockets formed by the wings 46, flexes the central portion of the panel toward dome 18 sufiiciently to deposit the remaining side edge of the panel into the remaining side pockets,and then advances the panel toward the foot or terminal end-wall 36 until the arch end 52 of the panel is disposed in abutment with or against the inner face of the depending lip 56 of the arch flange 58 (FIG. 10). The natural resiliency of the panel holds it in position, so that no fasteners such as nails, staples, or the like are needed.

The panel 30' preferably is somewhat wider across its arch-end 52 than across the terminal end 50, this variation in width being desirable in order to compensate for the increased arcuate distance across the arch at 24. At the foot or terminal end 50 of the panel, no arching or bowing is present, however from the foot end 50 toward the opposite or arch end 52 theinsert is progressively arched or bowed to a maximum at the arch flange. The arch end of insert 30, at A-B, is wider than the foot end at .CD (FIG. 6) by a dimension approximating'two inches in order to accommodate the progressive degree to which the insert is bowed when associated within a foot cap. The side edges 40 and 42 of the insert are of equal length.

Fabrication of a panel 30 involves a simple procedure and the use of inexpensive materials. For example, the panel may comprise a flat core sheet 60 of chip board, cardboard, or the like cut to the shape of FIG. 6. In the modification of FIGS. 12 and l3-the inner face of the core sheet may be covered with corrugated paperboard 68. a

The outerface of the panel is covered with a suitable upholstery fabric sheet 62 of any preferred design or quality. The upholstery fabric 62 will be exposed to aforesa id positive contacting relationship between upper or outer peripheral edge 28 of flanges 26 with the edgeadjacent edges of the liner results in a neat appearing, finished joint of such excellence and quality as to render unnecessary the need for auxiliary finishing, beading or edging strips or gimps heretofore extensively used in the casket lid art.

From the foregoing, it will be noted that I have provided simple yet highly effective means for securing a prefabricated liner under tension interiorly of a foot cap.

What is claimed is:

1. A burial casket footcap comprising hinge, foot, top and arch flanges, said hinge, top and foot flanges being disposed in a common plane and each including an upturned reinforcing flange which terminates in a substantially continuous free peripheral edge interiorly of the ,cap, obliquely inclined guide wings supported on the hinge, top and foot-flanges and overlying and spaced from the said peripheral edges and providing upwardly directed open-mouth pockets therewith, means fixedly securing said wings to said hinge, top and foot flanges, a liner in the cap comprising single upholstered initially plane panel of resilient sheet material yieldingly deformable to an arched condition, and said panel having side edges, a 'foot and an arch end, the side edges of the panel being spaced apart in the initial plane dimension a distance greater than the distance between the pockets of the hinge and top flanges of the cap, said panel being bowed in a full arch between said side edges thereof with said side edges inserted and directed downwardly in the pockets of the hinge and top flanges and the panel bearview whenever the foot cap is lifted to open position v sheet 58 may be secured adhesively or otherwise to core sheet 60, and its margins may be foreshortened or cut back as at 66 to reduce the marginal thickness of the completed panel in aid of easy insertion intothe pockets In FIG. 7 the numeral 70'indicates a coating of adhesive serving to secure the overlapped end of the upholstery fabric to the corrugated board element of the panel.

As will be evident, the mortician or the casket supplier may keep on hand a variety of upholstered panels 30 to match or complement the upholstery of the remainder of the casket, so that the purchasers wants may be easily fulfilled. The panels may be manufactured in plants best equipped for producing such items, with great savings of cost'and labor. Application of a panel such as 30 to a casket foot cap involves about one minute of labor cost, and produces a neat installation in which no fasteners are visible.

The marginal-adjacent edges of the upholstered face of the insert are disposed in contacting relationship with peripheral edges 28 of the reinforcing flanges 26 of the hinge, foot and top flanges 21, 23 and 25 bywreason of the inherent resiliency of the core sheet 60. whereby .the liner will be securely anchored within the foot cap.- -.T he

ing upon said free peripheral edges of the hinge and top flanges and the panel being maintained in said arch under tension created incident to the arcuate deformation for facilitating the insertion of said side edges into said pockets, the foot end of the panel being received in the pocket of the foot flange of the cap, and the opposite end of the panel conforming substantially to the curvature of the arch flange of the cap.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1, wherein the archflange of the cap projects outwardly from the arch end of the top and includes a depending peripheral lip and forms an abutment against which the arch end of the panel presses to preclude bodily shifting of the panel away from the foot'flange of the cap.

' 3. A burial casket foot cap comprising a covering dome, and hinge, foot, top and arch flanges, said hinge, foot and top flanges comprising horizontal bearing surfaces in a common plane, each of said hinge, foot and .top flanges terminating in an upturned reinforcing flange providing a free peripheral contact edge interiorly of the cap, obliquely inclined guide wings fixed to the hinge, foot and top flanges and between the lateral outer portions of the latter and the adjacent reinforcing flanges directed inwardly and upwardly toward the dome, said wings overlying and being spaced from the said contact edges of the reinforcing flanges to provide a plurality of open- .mouthed pockets along said hinge, foot and top flanges of the cap, the mouths of the pockets opening upwardly above the contact edges of the reinforcing flanges, a liner in the cap comprising an upholstered initially plane panel of resilient sheet material yieldingly deformable to an arched condition, said panel having side edges,

a foot edge and an arch end, the side edges being spaced apart a distance greater than the distance between the pockets of the hinge and top flanges of the cap, said panel having said side edges inserted downwardly in the pockets of the hinge and top flanges and being maintained thereby in a transversely arched form under tension created incident to the arcuate deformation of the panel for facilitating the insertion of the said edges thereof into said pockets, the panel overlying and bearing upon the said contact edges of the reinforcing flanges, a depending lip on the arch flange against which lip the arch end of the panel abuts to preclude bodily shifting of the panel away from the foot flange of the cap, the foot end of the panel extending into the pocket of the foot flange.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 3, wherein the width of the arch adjacent end of the panel exceeds the width of the foot end thereof.

5. A burial casket construction, comprising in combination, a closure cap and a completely prefabricated panel of a single resilient initially plane sheet material lining the cap interiorly thereof, a sheet of upholstery material covering one face of said panel, and means securing the upholstery material upon marginal portions of said panel, means within the cap forming pockets having a bottom and an opening above the bottom directed obliquely upwardly and inwardly of the cap, marginal portions of the panel and the said upholstery securing means extending downwardly into the pockets through the said pocket openings, said pockets being spaced apart transversely of the cap a distance less than the width of the initial plane dimension of the panel, the panel spanning the cap between the pockets in a single curved are under tension and being maintained in tension by lodgement of said marginal portions in said pockets and in lining position within the cap.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 5, wherein the cap includes an arch flange which projects outwardly from the arch end of the cap and a bordering downwardly projecting stop lip forming an abutment at said end of the cap, the panel arch coinciding at one end with the arch of said flange and the panel edge adjacent to said flange abutting the inner side of said lip to preclude displacement of the panel lengthwise of the cap.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 5, wherein the cap includes an arched end defined by a flange projecting outwardly therefrom and a lip depending from the flange, and a terminal end which is horizontally straight, the panel aforesaid extending substantially from one of said cap ends to the other end thereof, and the transverse arch of the panel increasing progressively from the terminal end to the arched end of the cap.

8. A burial casket foot cap comprising a covering dome, and a front rim, a rear rim, a terminal end rim,

and an arched end member opposite said terminal end rim, said rims including each a horizontal bearing flange section in a common plane, an upright interior reinforcing flange integral with the bearing flange sections at the front and rear rims of the cap, said reinforcing flanges providing upper contact edges interiorly of the cap, obliquely inclined guide wings fixed to the front and rear bearing flange sections and directed inwardly and upwardly toward the dome, said wings being spaced from and overlying the upper contact edges of the reinforcing flanges and forming with said edges oppositely disposed open-mouthed pockets opening upwardly from the bottoms of the pockets above the contact edges aforesaid, a liner within the cap comprising an upholstered initially plane panel of resilient sheet material yieldingly deformable to an arched condition, said panel having side edges and opposite ends, the side edges being spaced apart a distance greater than the distance between the pockets, the panel being deformed into a transverse arc and extending downwardly at its transverse edges through the mouths of and into the pockets for lodgement of its transverse side edges in the pockets of the front and rear rims aforesaid, the side edges of the panel being divergent to produce a progressively increasing arch height from one end of the panel to the other end thereof.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 8, wherein the cap includes means adjacent to the terminal end rim engaging and maintaining one end of the panel in a substantially flat condition, and means associated with the arched end member in engagement with the other end of the panel to preclude endwise bodily shifting of the panel in one direction.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,284,921 6/42 Purkiss 2716 X 2,664,615 1/54 Hillenbrand et a1 27l9 2,718,687 9/55 Woltering et a1 27l9 2,848,782 8/58 Gillison 2717 2,964,824 12/60 Hillenbrand 27l9 RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. 

5. A BURIAL CASKET CONSTRUCTION, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, A CLOSURE CAP AND A COMPLETELY PREFABRICATED PANEL OF A SINGLE RESILIENT INITIALLY PLANE SHEET MATERIAL LINING THE CAP INTERIORLY THEREOF, A SHEET OF UPHOLSTERY MATERIAL COVERING ONE FACE OF SAID PANEL, AND MEANS SECURING THE UPHOLSTERY MATERIAL UPON MARGINAL PORTIONS OF SAID PANEL, MEANS WITHIN THE CAP FORMING POCKETS HAVING A BOTTOM AND AN OPENING ABOVE THE BOTTOM DIRECTED OBLIQUELY UPWARDLY AND INWARDLY OF THE CAP, MARGINAL PORTIONS OF THE PANEL AND THE SAID UPHOLSTERY SECURING MEANS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY INTO THE POCKETS THROUGH THE SAID POCKET OPENINGS, SAID POCKETS BEING SPACED APART TRANSVERSELY OF THE CAP A DISTANCE LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF THE INITIAL PLANE DIMENSION OF THE PANEL, THE PANEL SPANNING THE CAP BETWEEN THE POCKETS IN A SINGLE CURVED ARC UNDER TENSION AND BEING MAINTAINED IN TENSION BY LODGEMENT OF SAID MARGINAL PORTINS IN SAID POCKETS AND IN LINING POSITION WITHIN THE CAP. 